The Refreshing Way Coca-Cola Is Enjoyed In Thailand

The bustling streets of Thailand are doing something right when it comes to serving one of the best ways to drink Coca-Cola. If you're exploring this country's many historic ruins or browsing the weekend markets in the height of summer, the heat can get notoriously insufferable. With little rainfall and air consistently thick with humidity, Thailand's summer scorchers can climb to temperatures as high as 104 degrees Fahrenheit. As a result, locals will scour cities for street stalls selling sweet, frosty Coke slushies to sip on to beat the sweltering heat.

Doubling as a tongue-soothing refreshment after you've sampled the spicy goodness from the best Thai cuisine, Coca-Cola slushies are as thirst-quenching as they are delicious. The vendors creating this tasty concoction aren't hard to miss, either. From up the street, you can hear the call of the Coke slushie. You'll likely find one by following the jingling sounds of ice clanging against glass bottles. Using a specialized machine to rhythmically jostle the bottles around in a large ice vat to achieve maximum slush, Thai merchants only need to pull one out, pour it, and serve. This icy delicacy is so popular in Southeast Asian countries that, in places like Singapore, you can make your own with self-serve machines that flash-freeze soda.

While this Coca-Cola slushie machine isn't the same as the ones you'd find at a 7-Eleven, there's a reason why it works so well in making the Thai version of this beverage. 

Much like the work that 7-Eleven Slurpee machines do, a rotating machine that keeps ice constantly moving is key to creating the perfect slushie. Thai street food vendors also dump water and ice into the vat. In response to a YouTube video, one commenter asked why the water being poured in was slightly brown, prompting the account owner to explain that it was due to the addition of salt. 

After adding salt to the ice water surrounding the Coke bottles, a chemical reaction occurs, preventing the ice from melting as rapidly as it would if they were sitting in plain water. Saltwater can reach colder temperatures than plain water, so soda bottles also freeze much faster. Salt, ice, and constant motion are the only factors needed to make these simple Coca-Cola slushies from Thailand a reality.

Of course, if you can't make it to an Asian street food stall anytime soon, you can concoct icy beverages at home. What's even better about making a homemade version of this sweet refreshment is the potential to add a boozy twist to the mix, like in our easy wine slushie recipe. You don't need to buy a bulky slushie machine to make it: Use your trusty blender to make the magic happen. We hope Thailand's Coke bottle slushie concept gets you thinking about other creative summer slushie ideas.